The MAVNI Program: A Source of Hope Becomes a Source of Uncertainty
by Hadia Faheem
For many immigrants, a chance at a new life is being threatened, thanks to a reversal of an almost eight year old policy.
In 2009, the United States Government set up the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI) program. The program was an attempt to bolster the army’s ranks with individuals from educated backgrounds, with specialized knowledge, such as language and medical expertise.
However, since 2016, the program’s existence has been under fire as the US government has been forcibly discharging individuals who enlisted in the military under MAVNI. These individuals applied to be part of the program, and have often been waiting to be cleared for duty, before being told that they are not eligible to serve anymore and are rejected, ruining their expedited chances at US citizenship.
Individuals eligible for the program were required to have been residing in the United States legally for at least two years prior to their enlistment date. They could be students studying under student visas, refugees, or asylum-seekers; or they could hold another temporary protected status, but they could not be permanent residents. By enlisting in the army through the program, individuals were placed on a fast track to citizenship, even before they started training. According to NPR, since its inception, the MAVNI program has recruited approximately 10,400 foreign-born individuals to the US military and granted them citizenship in return for their service.
Why did the United States decide to recruit non-permanent members in the first place? Many immigrant recruits were found to have more favorable characteristics and skills that the military was looking for. This included foreign language skills, such as Chinese, Russian, or Arabic, and specialized skills such as engineering and medical degrees. In fact, a 2017 study by RAND not released to the public found that MAVNI participants generally had better performance than the average soldier in the military.
The program was effectively halted in December 2016, after the government claimed it opened up the US military to higher levels of risk from issues like terrorism and espionage. However, due to a processing error, the MAVNI program was given another year to operate — an extension that expired in September 2017.
Individuals who successfully enlisted prior to that date have been waiting for their approved security clearances so they can begin serving. However, many enlistees have instead been forcibly discharged from the program because their background checks showed they had ties to foreign governments. Upon closer inspection, it was found that part of the government’s definition of “foreign ties” included actions such as maintaining regular communication with family who live in these foreign countries. Or, simply having parents and grandparents who served in a different country’s military, even if that country was a U.S. military ally.
According to Maj. Carla Gleason, a spokeswoman for the Pentagon, estimates since 2018 show that deployment for over 1000 enrollees was still delayed, meaning they signed the paperwork, but have not been able to attend basic training yet. This can endanger these individuals’ citizenship applications. In October of 2017, the Pentagon tightened the naturalization policy for MAVNI. In the past, enlistees could apply for citizenship prior to basic training and their security screening, so that their citizenship application could be processed quickly. Now, these individuals are required to serve for at least 180 days and have an approved security clearance and background check before their citizenship application can be processed. A lack of deadlines for these security checks has slowed the process even further.
The Defense Department has increased scrutiny when it comes to vetting military recruits. They face exhaustive levels of background checks, that include long interviews, deep dives into decades worth of personal finances, and lengthy questionnaires — the type of background checks usually required for soldiers who need top security clearance. Since these background checks for are so long and involved, it has created a processing backlog in the system.
As a result, these immigrants go from temporary, legal residents who enrolled in the army, to illegal aliens as their temporary residence visas expire while they wait for the military’s decision. Many had to apply for asylum after they were forcibly discharged to avoid returning to their home country. If it is revealed that they have a link to the US military, their family may become a target and they may be arrested upon return, despite having not even actually served.
This is the case for many Chinese immigrants in the MAVNI program. By applying to serve in the US military, these individuals are often seen as threats to Chinese national security, which could result lifetime imprisonment or the death penalty. These repercussions has led multiple Chinese citizens to apply for asylum claims to remain in the US.
Allan Rimban, a Filipino native who enlisted under the MAVNI program in November 2015 was ultimately rejected on the basis of overstaying his visa while waiting for the military to complete his background check. However, by taking his enlistment oath to the American military, he has effectively renounced his Filipino citizenship, according to Filipino law. The dissolution of the MAVNI program has effectively left him stateless.
In mid 2018, MAVNI recruits who were ultimately rejected filed a class-action lawsuit against the government. The plaintiffs claimed that they were discharged not because of misconduct or espionage, but because the US government did not want to expend the necessary resources to complete their background checks properly, and instead fabricated reasons for rejecting their applications. Between July 2017 and July 2018, the Associated Press reported that the army forcibly discharged 502 recruits.
As a result of the lawsuit, on July 20, 2018, the Army halted the forcible discharges it was handing out to recruits, stating that they needed to review the administrative process for the program. While this was a small win for MAVNI enrollees, who now cannot be forcibly discharged from the army, it also does not solve the issues they have been facing when it comes to obtaining citizenship.
Over a year has passed since this decision, and many MAVNI recruits, like Allan Rimban, are still unsure of whether they will ever obtain American citizenship. The same level of scrutiny for immigrants that has led to so many forcible discharges has not been applied to native, U.S.-born enlistees. As a result, the U.S. military has recently seen an uptick in white nationalist ideology.
After the 2017 protests in Charlottesville, NC, the Army Times reported that 1 in 4 U.S. troops had seen white nationalism among their peers. However, this trend is only likely to grow as long as the army continues its attempts to exclude immigrants from military service.
